Kiss The Girls really sealed the deal for me on James Patterson’s writing talent. I read Cat & Mouse and Jack & Jill and loved those books to death and I knew he had talent, but with the hiccup that was Along Came A Spider, I really had no clue if I had seen Patterson’s best writing or if his best writing was coming up with Kiss The Girls. Well, as soon as I got to the last page of this book I knew that Patterson was a different kind of writer. I knew that he would be like Stephen King in the fact that I would probably end up buying all of his books and reading them all very slowly. But in fact, I read them very slowly. Kiss The Girls is definitely one of the best books in the series just for its thoroughly engaging story line that made you thrilled until the last page and the quickness of it. Since the movie came out a while back, people have had the Kiss The Girls book on their Top 5 books lists and with good reason. This book was when the Alex Cross books got good.

When Alex Cross’s niece gets kidnapped, it’s up to him and his best friend and partner John Sampson to solve the crime only to discover that the sexual predator goes by the name Casanova. They also discover that a similar set of crimes have been happening in California, way across the country from Washington D.C. When other women disappear, things grow really wrong when Cross and Sampson learn there are two killers and who will be next on their list? With a new girlfriend and using classic Sherlock Holmes intellect to try and solve the case, it makes the kidnapping case he dealt with in the previous book, Along Came A Spider, look easy.

Now, as you can see, since Alex’s niece was taken, you already are set up for a great plot that you know will be much better than Along Came A Spider’s since the case is more personal. With Alex’s emotions high strung and his determination to catch the evildoers, all you have to do is sit back and relax as you see the events unfold. Kiss The Girls is where the series got really good. With its thoroughly engaging storyline that made you think of all the possible suspects and think of how Alex Cross and Sampson would catch the bad guy, there’s no doubt halfway through the book that you will think to yourself, “Damn, this is good stuff.”

The widowed Alex Cross is by far one of the best modern characters of our time. The way that you relate to him on all levels and the realism that is brought forth is by far some of the best writing that Patterson has ever accomplished. Alex Cross is deep. The Along Came A Spider case nearly destroyed him since he faced a brutal enemy, but with Kiss The Girls it’s a little more toned down—in the beginning at least, before the tension and suspense starts to build up. As the book goes on, this tension and drama really shatter the readers mind and that’s the type of book that I like. The subject matter of a sexual predator that is powerful and considers himself to be the lover of women (yet they must obey him) is a little creepy, yet very graphic. The crimes are very detailed and I found the subject matter a little on the depressing side.

Written in first person, but switching between Alex Cross’s point of view, to the killer’s often, Patterson wrote Kiss The Girls knows that people would be spell bounded by its suspense. Kiss The Girls has to be one of the most suspenseful novels in the series of Alex Cross books just for its quickness, increasing drama, and likable characters. James Patterson, whom has written a lot of other great books like 1st To Die, The Beach House, and Cradle And All, really outdid himself creating a wonderful storyline that keeps you interested until the very last page. You know how he accomplished this feat? The really short chapters that he has incorporated in a majority of his books, really up the briskness of the stories and they really make reading his stuff a blast because of its simplicity. Patterson’s excellent choice of wording and vocabulary makes reading his material fun and exciting. He’s one of the best authors out there and Kiss The Girls is one of his best books.

John Sampson remains a very nice character. His role in Along Came A Spider was a lot smaller, but Patterson really stretched out what Sampson can do and the results are amazing. In fact, Sampson is another really good character who I have grown to love as the series has gone on. Kate McTeirnan is a new character introduced in the pages of Kiss The Girls. She is likable and cool, but you really start to feel sympathy for her as the book goes on, which wasn’t what Patterson probably planned since she is a character that’s edgy, commandeering, and takes care of herself. Nana Mama, Cross’s grandmother, and his two kids Damon and Jannie are really nicely developed in Kiss The Girls as well. You see a new side to Cross when he is with his family. He’s a total family man. The way he treats his kids and the way that he

Kiss The Girls was a spectacular experience. A mixture of action, suspense, and romance really make this a great read and definitely a must buy for any mystery connoisseur. If you’ve read Along Came A Spider or any other books in the amazing Alex Cross series then you should definitely give Kiss The Girls a look at since it’s one of my favorites in the series for it’s fantastic storyline that keeps you interested so much that you won’t put it down and the fact that it is a quick read for how long it is. This is James Patterson at his best and you should without a shadow of a doubt give Kiss The Girls a try, just don’t use much tongue.

© Jason Haskins, 2004

“JiggyJay”



Warner Books Edition

458 Pages

1995


Other Patterson Reads

The Beach House

The Lake House

When The Wind Blows

Along Came A Spider (Alex Cross Book I)

Cradle And All




Recommended: Yes